Ron Fonger | rfonger@mlive.comTraffic passes through the intersection of Dye Road and Court Street Tuesday. The Genesee County Road Commission is planning to turn the intersection into the county's first roundabout.

FLINT TWP, MI -- Get ready for a whole new driving experience starting late next year at Dye Road and Court Street.

The Genesee County Road Commission is planning to build the area's first traffic roundabout here, despite some reservations from the township supervisor.

The new roundabout will change what's currently a four-way stop into a four-way yield with a center obstruction so that vehicles are sent in a circular direction.

The changes will create a kind of traffic merry-go-round, allowing drivers to make a turn when they come to the leg of the intersection they want.

"It's not going to be like Paris or Rome ... but it will get the job done," Road Commission Manager-Director John Daly said of the European-style traffic circles.

Using a federal safety grant of $250,000, the Road Commission plans to spend a total of $288,000 to create the roundabout with work starting next year. Road officials say roundabouts have a track record of reducing carbon emissions and cutting accident rates.

Dye and Court has a history of accidents and enough room in the public right of way to make the change without complications, Daly said.

"I think everybody is looking forward to it. We're going to have to remind drivers how to use a roundabout," Daly said. "It will be interesting to see how it goes."

Nina MacGillivray, a long-time Court Street resident, said the intersection near her home is dangerous but she thinks adding a roundabout would only cause the problem to become worse.

"I really compliment the Road Commission for trying something but that's not the solution," MacGillivray said. "The roundabout would only encourage more accidents."

In 2010, Fenton officials considered adding roundabouts in as many as four intersections as they planned changes in the city's business district street layout.

Eventually, city and Downtown Development Authority officials decided not to include the circular drives.

Township Supervisor Karyn Miller said she would rather have seen a roundabout added at Elms and Lennon roads.

"I like roundabouts," Miller said. "I think they can do a good job moving traffic. I do have concerns about (the configuration of Court and Dye). It remains to be seen (but) I do think it could be a little tight."